1. Technical Field
The invention relates to the interactive display of viewer information in a computer environment. More particularly, the invention relates to interactive mode and progress indicators in a computer environment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Multimedia devices such as VCRs, DVD players, MP3 players, cassette players, CD players, video tape editors, and the new class of Personal Video Recorders (PVR) are extremely popular with consumers. Almost every household in the United States has at least one of these devices.
The most common complaint (and joke) is that VCRs, in particular, are difficult to use and understand. This complaint is typical of the majority of multimedia devices.
One of the major areas that ease of use is lacking is in the program material progression indication. VCRs and DVD players commonly display the terms “FWD” for fast forward, “REV” for reverse, “PLAY” for play on the screen, telling the user that what mode he has selected. Other systems display their own set of terms or phrases to the user for each mode.
Additionally, the display of numeric counters is used by many manufacturers to tell the user the progression and position of the tape, CD, DVD, or MP3. For example, a four digit counter is displayed on the TV screen or dedicated display. The user can surmise what direction the media is progressing in by observing whether the counter is incrementing or decrementing.
The problem with these approaches is that multimedia equipment manufacturers do not use a consistent user interface. Terms, phrases, and counters are cryptic at best. Further, terms, phrases, and counters are not intuitive to the majority of the general public.
It would be advantageous to provide a multimedia visual progress indication system that is visually intuitive to the user and communicates the operation and progression of the program material. It would further be advantageous to provide a system that is easily standardized and used for any media.